I was about to start the operation, but one detail on the patient’s body made me stop immediately.
The operating room was as usual: an almost mechanical bustle. The nurses carefully laid out instruments on sterile tables while I checked the lights and gave instructions to the assistants. The monotonous noise of the machines came from the other side of the half-open door.
“The patient was brought in unconscious,” the anesthesiologist told me in a calm voice. “He was found on the street. His blood pressure is unstable, but we’re ready to begin.
” “The main thing is to start on time,” I answered, adjusting my sterile gown. “If everything goes according to plan, we have a good chance of saving him.
We headed to the sinks, our movements precise and automatic: washing our hands, putting on gloves, masks. The nurses had already covered the patient with a blue blanket, installed sensors and set up monitors. The air was filled with the smell of antiseptics. Everything was going as usual.
I approached the patient, picked up the instrument… but something made me suddenly stop. My gaze was fixed on the area of skin that was visible. My frowning face said everything I felt. Slowly, I put the instrument down.
“The operation is cancelled,” I said in a firm voice.
There was a deathly silence in the room.
“Cancelled?!” the nurse exclaimed, her indignation obvious. “If we don’t do something now, he won’t survive!”
“I can’t take that risk,” I explained. “Protocol must be followed in situations like this.”
I walked out without saying a word, taking off my gloves.
The nurse, intrigued, approached the patient to understand my decision, and then she discovered… Something shocking.
The following words were written on the patient’s skin in black ink:
Do not resuscitate
In such cases, such instructions can be considered a binding legal instruction prohibiting any surgical intervention, even if it means depriving the patient of the chance of survival.
Doctors are obliged to respect this wish, although it may seem cruel in a situation where every minute counts.
Some people find it funny to get tattoos with “messages” or symbolic images without understanding their real meaning. But in a crucial moment, it could be the death of you.
